Aphrodite's Blessings by Clemence McLaren

The goddess Aphrodite was adored and feared by gods and mortals alike; none were immune to her power. Young lovers offered gifts and prayers to her, the goddess of love and beauty, in hopes of receiving her blessings....

Content as one of the best athletes in her father's kingdom, Atalanta rebels against attempts at an arranged marriage. What she doesn't know is that Aphrodite has given her blessing to a race that will change everything.

Then there is Andromeda whose beauty rivals that of any goddess. She is devastated by her father's choice of a husband but Aphrodite has another plan for her too.

Finally, nobody wants to marry the beautiful Psyche. A mysterious suitor is finally found, but Aprhrodite decrees that Psyche must descend into Hades to earn his love.

In three love stories spun from Greek myths, Clemence McLaren, author of Inside the Walls of Troy and Waiting for Odysseus, presents these new retellings -- with all their longing, hope, fear, and love -- from the woman's point of view.

"These three love stories were my first retellings from Greek mythology, written when I was teaching on the island of Maui," Clemence McLaren says. "At the time, I was telling my Hawaiian students these myths from other islands half a world and three thousand years away, and they encouraged me to write them down. "Now, fifteen years later, I find that the best thing about being a writer is getting letters from young readers, especially young women. They often find in my retellings the voices of those that were silenced in the ancient stories.